Great video that really does his art justice: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GoQlvc_H3s"]Akademia Szermierzy - Fior di Battaglia (medieval longsword techniques) - YouTube[/ame]
Why is it great? What do you see specifically in it that does the art justice? Please provide more explanation- thanks!
For whatever reason, most of the well-shot HEMA videos tend to display the German school. For example, those done by Kohutovic on youtube. They're exciting, fast-paced, with great music and crisp execution. The Gladiatores videos are similar. It seems that only recently are Fiore-focused groups doing such videos. I like the fact that it sets the action in one of Fiore's duels, and pairs the techniques with the actual images from his manual, in the same scale too. The execution of the techniques is clean and they're well shot. By contrast, most Fiore videos are more instructional in nature and lack the dynamism of their Liechtenauer counterparts. This video breaks that trend and has some pretty high production values to boot.
I like that he "kills" the first guy, not with some fancy 20 twirl, screaming, back-flipping cartwheel strike, that is held up as how to use a sword these days, but with a simple parry and thrust where the blade doesn't move that much but moves in just the right way. Simple and direct.
Is blade grabbing ok/common? I assume the gloves stop your hand getting sliced open or that touching the flat is easier than you would think or something? I love HEMA and this fiore style stuff looks really cool... It massively appeals to both the martial arts nerd and the vestigial remains of the citadel miniature painting fantasy nerd, simultaneously. Yeah, I know "form an orderly queue ladies".
Sorry to be the curmudgeon here, but I found the amateur dramatics really painful to watch. The short sections where they overlaid illustrations from the manual over their demonstrations was pretty good, but the presentation was very off-putting to me. On grabbing blades: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoGb0JafLZM"]Showcasing HEMA - Historical Perspective on Blade Grabs - YouTube[/ame]
Yeah it is very common apparently. We get so used to being told knives and swords cut easily. However in HEMA they constantly grab swords. Remember that they often wear full armour and thick gloves. How cool is that?
The longsword material you see is actually typically specifically for unarmoured duelling. Sword in armour has it's own material (typically halfswording and grappling heavy).
I liked the presentation. And I think that dismissing amateur camerawork is really not fair. As far as editing goes it was good. Although I feel the whole tone of it was a little homo erotic. From polishing the tip, to the weird long haired man trying to avenge his lover
I'm OK with it, since Hollywood has lots of amateur sword fighting. Turnabout is fair play, after all.
The only thing wrong with long, unkempt hair are the fits of jealous rage and melancholic nostalgia I get when I see other people with it Damn my Klingon hairline!
That's what I liked about it, too. The drawings could have been held for one second longer, but pairing the drawings with the actual moves was sweet. :happy: